🌳 Are you sick of seeing our trees decimated like this? I am.
✨ Last night we celebrated some of the extraordinary people who make Monash such a strong, connected and caring community at the 2026 Sir John Monash Awards.
🇦🇺 A special night welcoming our newest Australian citizens at tonight’s City of Monash citizenship ceremony.
🎠What a fantastic afternoon (and night) at the theatre!
It was great to visit Glenallen School for the opening of their new Mini Woolworths, giving students the opportunity to build practical skills and confidence through a hands-on supermarket experience.
🇦🇺 A very special citizenship ceremony today.
🗑️ This would be a disaster for waste reduction in Victoria, and an extraordinary overreach into local government.
🎨 This afternoon I had the pleasure of officially opening the Chinese Brush Painting Exhibition at The Track Gallery in Mount Waverley.
@justcutsformen Oakleigh have always looked after me, but now they’re looking after this little spunk too. I think they sucked him in with lollipops.
🎨 Congratulations to the Spring Art Troupe on celebrating its 5th anniversary.
🕊️ Building bridges through understanding, respect and friendship.
🎠There’s something special about seeing young people light up a stage.
🇦🇺 A very special evening welcoming some of our newest Australian citizens.
🎄❤️ It was a pleasure to join @clareoneilmp, @steve_dimopoulos and @south_east_community_links at their Christmas in July celebration at the Oakleigh Carnegie RSL.
đź’Ť What an extraordinary milestone, 75 years of marriage.
🎉 Celebrating 50 years of Probus in Australia!
🌏 Great to meet with the Eastern Region Group of Councils yesterday in my capacity as Vice President of the Australian Local Government Association.
🏉 Great to officially open the new $3.1 million Brandon Park Reserve Pavilion.
Current regulations generally require 1 metre clearance around uninsulated low-voltage powerlines in low bushfire risk areas, which includes much of metropolitan Melbourne. The result is what you can see in these photos, mature street trees heavily cut back and often left looking disfigured.
The State Government has now introduced regulations allowing trials to reduce that clearance to 300mm in appropriate low bushfire risk areas, where it can be done safely.
Council officers are auditing trees right across Monash to identify where the reduced clearance could be applied, with that work due to be completed by the middle of next year.
But I don’t think we should wait until then to start seeing whether we can do better.
I’ve asked officers to look at trialling the reduced clearance sooner on streets leading into our activity centres. Locally in Oakleigh, that means Golf Links Road, Drummond Street, Atkinson Street and Atherton Road.
We need to keep our community safe, but where the risk is low and the regulations allow it, we should also be doing everything we can to protect our mature street trees. 🌳
This year we received 85 nominations across 10 categories, recognising volunteers, leaders, advocates and changemakers who give so much of themselves to help others, often quietly and with little or no fanfare.
More than 155 people joined us to celebrate their contribution, and it was a privilege to hear some of their stories and recognise the difference they make every day.
Congratulations to every nominee and award winner, and especially to our overall winner, Betty. At 91 years young and still going strong, Betty is an incredible example of a lifetime spent giving back to others. ❤️
Over the coming weeks Council will be sharing more about this year’s winners and the work they do across our community.
It’s always a privilege to preside over these ceremonies and share such an important moment with new citizens and their families.
Congratulations and welcome! 🇦🇺
We headed along as a whole family to see @huntingtower School’s production of Once Upon a One More Time and absolutely loved it. In fact, the girls enjoyed it so much they went back and watched it again the same evening!
There’s something pretty special about seeing the talent, energy and enormous amount of work that students put into a production like this.
A huge congratulations to everyone at Huntingtower involved, both on stage and behind the scenes. You certainly won some very enthusiastic fans in our family! đź‘ŹđźŽâť¤ď¸Ź
There was plenty happening throughout the morning, including motorised scooters with Waverley Toyota, bingo, AFL handball and planting activities. It was fantastic to see everyone so engaged and having such a great time.
Glenallen School does amazing work in our community supporting people of all abilities, and it is always a pleasure to see firsthand the opportunities they create for their students.
A big thank you to Woolworths Group, Waverley Toyota and the entire Glenallen School community for putting together such a terrific event and continuing to create inclusive opportunities for young people. đź‘Ź
I had the privilege of conducting an individual citizenship ceremony in my office for a Monash resident who, due to being immunocompromised, was unable to attend one of our larger ceremonies.
Becoming an Australian citizen is an incredibly significant moment, and everyone should have the opportunity to mark it in a way that works for their circumstances.
It was a pleasure to be able to make that happen today.
Congratulations on becoming our newest Australian citizen! 🇦🇺
We constantly hear that councils should stick to “roads, rates and rubbish”. Yet now the Victorian Opposition wants the State Government to dictate exactly how councils collect that rubbish.
There are distinct responsibilities for each level of government. Waste collection is one of the most fundamental services delivered by local councils. Councils design, contract and pay for these services based on the needs of their communities. A blanket State Government mandate for weekly red bin collections tramples all over that our democratic system of Government.
This feels like a classic populist policy, designed to sound good in a headline rather than deal seriously with the long-term challenge of reducing waste.
Good public policy should not just be about what is easiest or most popular today. It should be about leaving a better system for future generations, reducing the amount of waste we bury in the ground, using resources more responsibly and changing behaviours over time.
Forcing councils back to weekly red bin collection would effectively double household landfill capacity. It would mean more waste being buried in the ground, more garbage trucks on our streets, more fuel use and emissions, and significantly higher collection costs. Those additional costs will ultimately be passed directly on to ratepayers through their waste charges, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
It also sends completely the wrong message. We should be helping households get food waste into FOGO and recyclables into recycling, not making it easier to send more waste to landfill.
If the State Government wants to set statewide environmental and waste reduction targets, that is entirely appropriate. But councils should be able to determine how local waste collection services are delivered to meet those targets.
You cannot tell councils to stick to “roads, rates and rubbish” and then announce that you are going to take control of the rubbish.
This might be an easy political promise to make today for short-term political gain, but ratepayers will be left paying the bill an
Featuring around 80 stunning works by students of Echo Wu’s Chinese Painting Studio, the exhibition showcases not only incredible artistic talent, but also the power of art to bring people together across generations and cultures.
Congratulations to Echo Wu and all of the artists whose creativity, dedication and passion are on display. Thank you for inviting me to be part of such a wonderful celebration of art, culture and community.
If you have the chance, make sure you drop in and take a look. It’s well worth a visit. 🖌️
They used to be located in Oakleigh Central but are now on Portman Street. And the owner is a Melbourne supporter. What’s not to love? ❤️💙
It was a pleasure to join members today and recognise five years of bringing people together through art, culture and community.
Monash is proudly one of Australia’s most diverse communities, and groups like the Spring Art Troupe help make our city such a welcoming and vibrant place by celebrating creativity, building friendships and sharing culture.
Congratulations on this wonderful milestone, and thank you for the contribution you make to our community. I wish you many more years of success. 🎉
It was a pleasure to join students from across Monash for the inaugural Schools Program hosted by Monash Interfaith Gathering at @huntingtower .
Monash Interfaith Gathering does important work bringing people of different faiths and backgrounds together, creating opportunities for conversation and helping to build a more inclusive and harmonious community.
A big thank you to Mel Beale and Huntingtower for hosting, and congratulations to all the students who presented and shared their faiths, values and perspectives.
In one of Victoria’s most diverse communities, opportunities like this help young people learn from one another and recognise that, despite our differences, there is so much that connects us.
This afternoon the whole family enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, presented by the incredibly talented students from Salesian College and Sacred Heart.
The energy, confidence and enthusiasm on display were fantastic. From the lead performances to the ensemble, it was clear just how much work had gone into bringing the show to life.
Zoe was a huge fan of the Queen of Pop, who certainly knew how to steal a scene! As for me, I thought Charlie and Willy Wonka were outstanding.
Congratulations to everyone involved, the cast, orchestra, crew, teachers and volunteers. Productions like this give students the opportunity to develop confidence, creativity and lifelong memories, and they provide the community with a wonderful night out.
Well done to all involved! đź‘ŹđźŽ
@salesiancollegechadstone @shgc.oakleigh
Citizenship ceremonies are always incredibly moving. Behind every pledge is a unique story, a journey and a decision to officially call Australia home.
I was also proud to have Zoe come along and share the occasion with me. It was a wonderful opportunity for her to see firsthand the meaning of citizenship and the diversity that makes our community so special.
Congratulations to all of our new citizens. 🇦🇺
The event was a chance to recognise the extraordinary volunteers of Monash Oakleigh Community Support and Information Service and Monash Waverley Community Information and Support, who for many years provided compassionate support to some of our community’s most vulnerable residents.
Today, that important legacy continues through South East Community Links, with @monashcouncil proud to support the transition through an earlier $80,000 investment, followed by a further $150,000 in this year’s Budget. It’s a great example of local, state and federal governments working alongside community organisations to strengthen support for those who need it most.
Thank you to everyone, past and present, who continues to make our community a more caring and connected place.
It was a privilege to spend time with Mount Waverley’s Reg and Mary Williams as they celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.
They shared some wonderful memories with us, including going to dances together at the Oakleigh RSL and their early married life in Mount Waverley, when they would walk to a family member’s home near the corner of Warrigal and Dandenong Roads in Oakleigh just to have a bath.
Reg and Mary have called Mount Waverley home for more than 76 years and have seen the area change from dirt roads and horse-drawn deliveries into the vibrant community it is today.
I took my girls along for the visit, which Reg and Mary really appreciated. We all loved hearing their stories and taking a trip down memory lane with two very special members of our community.
Congratulations, Reg and Mary, on 75 remarkable years together. ❤️
It was wonderful to join the Syndal Combined Probus Club to recognise this remarkable milestone and the important role Probus plays in keeping people active, connected and engaged.
Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to 50 years of friendship, fellowship and community. đź‘Ź
It was a pleasure to welcome ALGA President, Mayor Matt Burnett, to discuss the national issues that matter most to local communities and the important role councils play in shaping Australia’s future.
Our discussions covered the need for infrastructure funding to support housing and population growth, advancing the circular economy, protecting and expanding public open space, and exploring how councils can work more collaboratively through shared services.
Strong local government starts with strong collaboration. By working together across councils and advocating with one voice nationally, we can achieve better outcomes for our communities. 🤝🏛️
Thank you to @johnmullahymp and the Victorian Government for contributing $500,000. It is a great example of different levels of government working together to deliver for our community.
Congratulations to @mazenod_fc and @mulgravewheelershillcc. đź‘Ź
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